It is required that tire marking apparatuses (hereinafter also simply referred to as “marking apparatuses”) that perform marking in tires are included in equipment that tests and inspects completed tires, such as tire uniformity machines that measure the non-uniformity of tires or balancing machines that measure the unbalance of tires.
In the marking apparatuses, it is required that marks, such as circular shapes or triangular shapes, are dotted (marking is performed) at circumferential positions (phases) of a tire, which are determined from measurement results and criteria for determination, on a sidewall of the tire.
Various shapes and colors of the marks have been required in recent years, and a plurality of marks may be required for a tire.
As the types of positions where marking is performed in a tire, there are a type in which marking is required in determined phases of a tire, and a type in which marking is allowed to be performed on arbitrary phases on a sidewall.
In a case where a plurality of marks are formed in a tire, it is known that a plurality of marks are formed in a sidewall of a tire with positions being shifted from each other in a radial direction of the tire, or a plurality of marks are formed with positions being shifted from each other in a circumferential direction. Increasing the number of marks by combining shifting the positions from each other in the radial direction of the tire and shifting the positions from each other in the circumferential direction is also known.
For example, in Patent Document 1, as this type of marking apparatus, a marking apparatus includes a stamping bar assembly including six stamping elements (printing parts) and a marking actuator (printing driving unit) that moves the stamping elements to press a tape against a tire in a window structure. The six stamping elements are linearly arranged side by side.
As the stamping bar assembly moves in a predetermined direction along a rail, any one of the six stamping elements forms a predetermined aligned state with the window structure.